Spotted on Kickstarter: 5-in-1 welder and plasma cutter

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neb

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#289322 29-Aug-2021 00:36

In case this is of interest to anyone here, there's a Kickstarter project to do a MIG/FCAW/MMA/TIG welder and plasma cutter for $549 ($619 with shipping), which looks a lot more versatile and/or a third the price of equivalent devices.

jim.cox

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#2768243 29-Aug-2021 07:38

DC only - so not great for aluminium

=mjc=
.

andrewNZ

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#2768256 29-Aug-2021 08:38

Scratch start Tig is pretty nasty too. Though that target market mostly probably won't use Tig anyway.

We've had a number of industrial welders in for repair over the last year or two. The older dumb ones are usually a simple fix.
The newer ones are full of electronics and repair is, more often than not, just guess work.

neb

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#2768364 29-Aug-2021 14:08

jim.cox:
DC only - so not great for aluminium

Sure, but welding Alu is a black art anyway so I'm assuming it's not something that their target market will be trying...

KellyP

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#2768380 29-Aug-2021 14:37

Thats a nice unit. Shame I can't weld yet, I'll stick to soldering for now. 😆

frankv

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#2768418 29-Aug-2021 16:35

Anyone here know what's what with welders?

Here's the specs: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GUydaIY6o-Ohq2ORwqg2vlLqORT9qz6P62EA8BqSds8/edit?usp=sharing

Is this a good deal, or are the compromises to make it a cheap 5-in-1 jack of all trades making it a master of none? Someone's already said it's no good for aluminium. Any other limitations?

Is this going to be practically usable from a standard 10A outlet? Or for practical purposes would it need to be plugged into a 30A circuit to my garage? Or 3-phase?

It appears on the face of it that this is a solid company... is that right? I was bitten by the ONO/OLO 3D printer scam, so I'm wary of KS nowadays.

neb

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#2768421 29-Aug-2021 16:40

Whether the compromises are worthwhile is an interesting question, the "no good for Alu" is purely because it's a DC welder, but then welding Alu is pretty tricky anyway and probably not a high-demand item.

In terms of power, you'd need a 32A circuit available or fitted, 10A won't cut it.

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bmoff

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#2768472 29-Aug-2021 17:52

Bit of misinformation being tossed around here.

This is a typically spec'd multi-function welder, albeit cheap. Pretty much all 200 amp multi-function welders in NZ are fitted with 15 amp plugs and should be used with a dedicated 15 amp socket. It is however a common but not recommended practice to file down the earth pin. Next time you're in Cash Converters check out the plugs on second hand welders! Many people get away with using 200 amp welders on 10 amp sockets because they are normally welding with much lower amps say 80 - 100. This welder falls into this category and usually the specs are over-stated anyway particularly on the cheap Chinese models. Always compare duty cycles, they are a good indication of the machine quality, if you can believe them! There are reputable brand 180 amp welders available that have 10 amp plugs.

Scratch start and lift arc TIG are not necessarily the same thing, provided the lift arc start has been properly implemented. The specs here say lift arc. In some circumstances lift arc is preferable to HF (high frequency) start.

Aluminium can be MIG welded (DC) with the right equipment such as a spool gun, (probably not with this welder though) or with a Teflon liner (may be feasible with this welder).

I have a multi-function machine which is fine for MIG and MMA, but like most MF machines not really up to the mark for serious TIG work, and I subsequently bought an AC/DC TIG machine. I would think this welder would be fine to have in the workshop for occasional and general use. There will be limitations with the plasma cutting functions though as with all cheap plasma cutters, however that's another story.

neb

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#2768476 29-Aug-2021 18:04

Yeah, I was simplifying a bit in my comments about Alu welding, it can in theory be DC welded if you really know what you're doing, but for most people it's going to be "don't DC weld Alu". Or more generally "don't weld Alu until you've first acquired a decent amount of experience with simpler stuff like steel".